Street-lighting fixture



A.A.HOCHER STREET-LIGHTING FIXTURE Aug. 26, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 23, 1948 Aug. 26, 1952 A. A. HOCHER 2,608,359

STREET LIGHTING F IXTURE Filed June 25, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 26, 1952 A. A. HocHi-:R

STREET-LIGHTING FIXTURE 4 Sheetg-Sheet 3 Filed June 23, 1948 Aug. 26, 1952 A. A. HOCHER 2,608,369

STREET-LIGHTING FIXTURE Filed June 23, 1948 4 SheeLS-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE STREET-LIGHTING FIXTURE Andrew A. Hocher, Glenshaw, Pa., assgnor to `Hubbard and Company, a corporation of Penni Sylvania r Application .Tune 2s, 194s, serial No. 34,680

l v This invention relates, to [overhead lighting brackets or heavy duty lighting fixtures `of a type particularly suitable for outdoor and-street lighting usage. A phase of my'invention pertainsY to sweep arm mountings for such bracket or iixtures. l

,Previous to my present invention a number of difficulties have been encountered in' connectioni with the provision of street-lighting nxtures. AIn the first place, a fixture of this type is generally employed to support rather lheavy luminaires up to `'I5 pounds'or more, and thus,

"has to be sufficiently strong to carry Vits own weight and the weight of `a luminaire with a good factor of safety under adverse weather conditions.

p In the second place,`a street-lighting bracket or fixture must b e suitable for mounting on a pole,` Vertical uprightor support that may be loaded with` other equipment near the upper end or top thereof. That is, it should be capable `of being mounted at a lower or clearance level on a support and have sulcient sweep and a proper alignment to provide a proper and safe lightinglevely In addition, a luminaire requires rather heavy cables or wiring` under present day conditions. Thus, the fixture should be capable of being 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-221) easily provided or threaded with cables or wiring 1 after it has been mounted in position on a pole or support. Also due to the fact that a fixture of. this type, in itself, is somewhat heavy and due to its sweep is somewhat awkward to handle, the lineman or worker normally has considerable dimculty in properly aligning and mounting or attaching it on a pole or support.

Since the overhead lighting bracket is only as strong as its weakest point when in a mounted relationship on an upright or pole, heretofore the weakestpoint of such a bracket has been its point of connection to `an upright. Heavy wiring cables such as required at the present time `are .relatively stiff and hard to bend and should be capable of insertion in a tubular arm or sweep member without damage to their insulation and without exposing their wires. Heretofore, it has been customary to use a pole plate or a cast socket that is a separate member and of a requisite size `for one particular installation. Such plate or socket has been positioned to hold the horizontal end of thearm in position and has thus constituted the weak-point of the structure and has raised a problemin cable or wire threading. In addition,- it formed a collector for moisture- In View of the above considerationsVit has been an object of my invention to provide a new and improved form of bracket or'xture and mounting therefor that will meet the above factors and will facilitate securing it in position on a suitable vertical support, such as a pole;

Ano-ther object has been to provide aninexpensive and practical form of street-lighting bracket or fixture having improved characteristics; i

A furthe-r object has been toprovide a fixture that may be easily slid into a preliminary position on a pole in such a` manner that it will be somewhat loosely supported while being set and then finally secured in position;

Another ob-ject has `been to providea lighting fixture that will permit current carrying cables or wiring to be easily threaded therethrough after the bracket has been mounted in position on a suitable support or pole.

These andimany other objects of my invention will appear to those skilled in the art from the illustrative embodiments thereof and the following description.

In the drawings: i A v i i Figure 1 is a fragmental side detail elevation showing a preliminary step of loosely mount- 'ing a bolt orpin on apole or vertical support to ing a fixture of my invention in a position above the bolt shown in Figure l and ready `to be lowered upon it;

Figure 3 is a side' view in` elevation showing the fixture of Figure 2 after being set, aligned, and permanently or securely mounted in position on a pole or other vertical support; in thisview, l-ag screws have been inserted and thebolt or pin has been drawn up tightly; c

Figure 4 is an enlarged front view in elevation of an upper mounting yoke, support bracket or element which is adapted to engage the bolt of Figurel;

Figure 5 is an enlarged side in elevation of the bracket of' Figure 4; and, Figure 61 is an enlarged top plan `view thereof; l

`Figure 7 is an enlarged horizontal sectional detail taken along the line VII-fVII of Figure 3 and illustrating a lower mounting yoke, support clamp or element; i f

Figure 8 is an enlarged side view in elevation; and, Figure 9 is an enlarged frontfview in elevation of the support clamp of Figure 7;

Figure 10 is a horizontal section, somewhat n enlarged, showing a clamping band that may be employed with the support bracket of Figures 4 and 13 for loosely or pivotally hanging a sweep arm on a vertical support as a substitute for the pin or bolt shown in Figure 1; this band is particularly suitable, for example, where a metal pole is being. used;

Figure 1l is a horizontal section, somewhat enlarged, of a comparable lower ciamping band for a support clamp such as shown in Figures .'l and 14; Y Y

Figure 12 is a View similar to Figure 3, but

showing a modiedr form'of fixture whereinA clearance is provided between it and its support; Figure 12A is a front View in elevation of the support bracket shown in Figures 12 and 13;

Figure 13 is a horizontal sectional detail taken Vis a side view linrelevation of one interiitting 'J bracket portion sho-wn in an assembled relationship in embodiment of Figure 15;

Figure 19 lisa top plan View and Figure 12A is a side View `in Veievation of the other intertting support bracket ment of Figure 15;

VFigure 20 is a vertical View in elevation of a iixture in which its support bracket has an increased span to provide a greater bracing action; this. form is particularly suitable for iixtures carrying loads of more than 100` poundsor having a longer span;

Figure 21 is a top section taken along the linev KXI-XXTL of Figure 20;

Figure V22 is a front vertical sectional detail taken along the lines XXII-#XXII of Figure 20;

Figure 23 is a side view in elevation and Figure 24 is a front view in elevation showing a xture of my invention provided with a unitarysupport bracket and support clamp; the dot and dash lines of. Figure 23 show the iixture in; a prelimn inary position ready to be hung or pivotally supported on a pin or bolt and the full lines show it securely or rigidly mounted in its nal Vposition on the pole or vertical support;

Figure 25 is a horizontal section taken along the 'line XXV-XXV of Figure 23 and Figure 26 is a vertical section taken along the line XVI-EQIVI of Figure 24.

In order Vto simplify the description of illustrated embodiments of my invention, I have employed like numerals for similar parts in the various embodiments thereof and slightly modified parts have been indicated by prime suffixes.

In accordance with vmy invention, I provide an improved lighting bracket having an arm lmember 2Q adapted to be mounted on and Vto project from a vertical upright or pole iii. The tubular arm member-.20 has a bend providing a vertically extending mounting portion adjacent its lower end; and attaching means is secured on such mounting portion and extends transversely therefrom to fasten the mounting portion on the vertical upright. Such means com.- prises what may be termed an upper attaching portion of the embcdiportion or support piece 30 and a lower attaching portion or clamp piece 2d which are in a vertically spaced-apart relationship on the mounting portion of the arm member 2t and are also spaced from the fully open vertical end 22 of the arm member. In this manner. I have been able to effectively balance the support of thearm member 2d Aon the vertical upright i9 and thus eliminate a weakening of the overall structure by reason of its method of mounting. In addition, the attaching means is secured to and has portions that constitute a part of the arm member Eil; thus,l the attaching means can be formed as a unitary part of the arm member in the shop, readyfor mounting in position when taken to the field. This eliminates carrying a stock of different size attaching means for dif-- ferent size arm members and contributes in this. sense to a less expensive construction and one in which the attaching Vparts de not havevtobe located and selected asto size inthe/field. The construction also` permits thel utilization of heavy cables, since such cables can be readily inserted through itsJlower vertical end 22 without sharp bends andV without forming water pockets, such as inherent in prior constructions. Also, Vspecial bushings, sockets, etc. for the Wiring have been eliminated.- Y

Referring particularly to the embodiment'of myinvention shown in Figures 15 to 9, inclusive, it! illustrates a .pole or substantially Vertical upright or support for the bracket or xture and ii is'a bolt,V pin-or Vstud (headed-projection or mounting pin) which is. adapted to be positioned on the pole and to be mounted, at least preliminarily, in a relatively loose relationship thereon or with its head l2 projecting sufliciently to permit the attaching porticnor support piece 30 of arm member 2B to be loosely-pivoted or hung thereon, see Figure 1. The bolt Il is shown provided with a suitable head l2 at .one end thereof and with a threaded, opposite end portion I4 that is adapted to receive a washer ib and a threaded, adjustable, take-up nut i3d.

Figure 1 shows that the bolt headportion l2 is in a spaced relationship'lwith a front wall or face of the pole le. VReferring. particularly to Figures 2 and E', the iixture-v illustrated is Vpro vided with a hollow up-sweep `member or arm memberl 29, oi'hollow or tubular construction. Theupper end 2lv of 'the sweep arm 20 may be threaded or provided Vwith means for V.carrying and mounting a' suitableleonventional luminaire. A lower yokeielementclamp piece, band, or

r lower attaching `porti-on A21S is-shown welded at toa mounting portion, vertical section or lower end portion 2i?y ci .the sweeparm.. As shown partic'zularlyA in .Figures 17, .8 and 9, the ciarnp or attaching portionf 2d is provided-With a pair of outwardly-extending leg or wing vportions 25a and 25h, each of Whichhas a mounting lag bolt or screw receiving hole -25 therethrough. The leg portions 25d.. and .25h are shown integrally connected-by a curved 'orfs'cmewhat semicircularconnecting, foot or back wall Ypor-tion El', adapted as shown particularly in Figura'l, to correspond substantially in curvature tothe curvature of the portion 22 of the sweep arm 2d. As shownf particularly Yin Figure 3,l vlag screws-23 are adapted tofbe.F inserted lthrough hcles- 26 ,intoV the pole'or .Y support `It'. for vthe nal mounting of thexture thereon. Y

Referring particularly to Figures 4, 5, and 6, I have shown an upper attaching portion, support piece, yoke, or element 39 Which is ofsubas I2 of Figure 1.

stantially U-shape, see Figure 6. The upper atoutwardly-extending, parallel leg or wing portions 3| a and 3Ib which are shown secured to a curved part of the mounting portion of the sweep arm and at a spaced location above the clamp or lower attaching portion l24 by a suitable means,` such as a weld 32.

As shown particularly in Figures 2, 3, and 5, the front edges 330i the leg portions 3IaV and 3Iblslope backwardly to, correspond substantially tothe slope or curvatureof an adjacent portion of the arm memberV 2li to which they are secured by weld metal 32. The arm portions 3Ia and`3Ib may be provided with holes 34 therethrough, in order that, if desired, the clamping band of Figure l0 may be used. The back ends of portions 3Iar and 3Ib are integrally connected by a foot or mounting portion which, as shown particularly in Figure 4, is provided with an open slot extending from a bottom edge thereof upwardly therealong. This slotis shown enlarged at its lower portion 36h to correspond substantially in width to the width of a bolt head such The upper portion 36a of the slot has alesser width of slightly greater extent, but to approximately correspond to the diameter of the bolt or pin II. The portion 35 preferably has a shape or curvature corresponding to the pole or support I0, see Figure 6.

To mount a bracket or fixture, suchasshown in the above iigures, the lineman may,v as shown in Figure l, first loosely mount the bolt II. Next, the fixture may be pulled up by any suitable means to its approximate position and moved to a preliminary position with respect to the lower portion of the slot `36 in alignment with the bolt I I. Then, the-weight of the xture may be employed to permit it to slide downwardly along the pole It)` until the stem of the bolt AII enters `the upper slot portion 36a and abuts against the upper curved edge thereof, see

, Figures 3 and 4. Then, `the lag bolts or screws 28 may be secured in position, andthe nut i3d tightened up until the bolt head I2 tightly abuts against an outer face of `the foot or mounting portion 35 of the attaching portion 3U.

After the fixture has been thus securely mounted in position, cables or wires may be threaded upwardly through the lower open end 22 of the up-sweep arm 20 and carried out of the upper open endportion 2I. At this point, any suitable form of luminaire or luminaire mounting may be secured on the end 2I and the cable suitably connected thereto.

In Figure l0, I have shown another way of mounting a support clamp piece or attaching portion such as 30 of Figure 3`or 30 of Figure l2. In this arrangement,` the bolt II may be omitted and a support clamp or clamping band 4I) used in place thereof. The band 4I] may be said to constitute an intertting portion'of the attaching portion 35, and is provided with outwardly-projecting, spaced-apart wing or leg portions 4Ia and 4Ib that are adapted to rest upon or abut the leg portions 3|a and 3Ib of the attaching portion 30. A pivot pin or bolt 43 extends through holes 4,2 in the leg portions 4|a and 4Ib that are aligned with the holes 34 of the leg portions 3Ia and 3Ib, and thus, may be employed to hang the attaching portion 30 from the support or pole I0'.

The clamping band 40 is provided with two clamping halves; the front half is` adapted to extend about 'a front half `portion of thecirc'um-V lug portions 44 and 41.

i bolt 52.

ference of the `pole Ill and the back half y is adapted to extend about a back half portion thereof. The two semi-circular halves thus encircle the pole I Il and are secured in position by bolts 49 that extend through holes 48 in the projecting Nuts 41a provide means forsecurelymounting the clamping halves of 40 on the support IIJ. If desired, the back half of the band 40 may be provided with an offset portion 5U fto receive ran insulator-clevis-mounting The bolt 52 is shown provided with a head 53 and a nut 54 on oppositesides of the portion 53.

lln Figure ll, I have shown a clamping band 55 for the lower attaching portion or clamp piece 24. In this arrangement, bolts 58 t in the holes 26 in such a manner that their bent headl portions 59 clamp or fasten the attaching portion 24 upon the pclecr upright I0'. The clampingI band 55 has a semi-circular back portion provided with bolt-receiving holes 51 in its projecting lugs 55 against which nuts 60 may be tightened down.

The construction of Figuresl l0 and ll may be used where a hollow steel pole is being employed and where it is desirable to avoid the use of lag bolts 28 and pivot bolt II. The transverse or cross-bolt 43 may be somewhat loosely mounted to preliminarily hang the iixture until it has been aligned, set, and rigidly secured in position by the attaching portion 24.

Y, In Figures l2, 12A, 13, and 14, I have shown a modified form of lower mounting yoke, attaching portion, clamp piece or element 24 which is similar to piece 24 of Figure 7, except that it is provided with a pair of backwardly extending, bent-in or necked, wing or leg portions 25'a and 25'b. The greater backward extent of the portions 25'11, and 25b permits the arm member 20 to be mounted in a slightly spaced relationship with respect to the pole or vertical upright I0.

It will be apparent that the extending supporting leg portions 3Ia and 3|"b of the upper attaching portion 38' may be of any suitable extent, corresponding to a `desired vertical positioning on the sweep arm 20. And, the upper attaching portion 30 can be mounted at any suitable spaced location with respect to the lower attaching portion 24' to provide requisite supporting strength for the structure.r In Figure 13, the leg portions 3Ia and 3Ib of the attaching portion 30 provide additional clearance between the sweep arm member 20' and the upright member IE. This arrangement may be used where the upper attaching portion 30 is to be mounted closely adjacent to the lower attaching portion 24 or where, as shown, in Figure 12, the sweep arm has` little, if any, curvature between the attaching portion or clamp piece 24 and the attaching portion or support piece 3D', in that it provides sufficient clearance between the sweep arm member 20 and the head I2 of the loosely positioned bolt II to permit the upper piece 30 to be slid into position with respect to the bolt and its head; It will be apparent that the attaching portion or support piece 30' may be used with the lower attaching portion 24 of Figure 3, and that the lower attaching portion 24' may be used `with the upper attaching portion 3i) 22; is lmade up from an andr down) construe pair lof lower, backwardly-extending lug, wing or lscrews or bolts 23. v f portion 'iB'of the'unitary member 5G is provided angle piece; whose upper end 68a mayv beslightly swaged out to receive the sweep arm ZSt'o which it is secured by weld 'metal illi. The other or lower end portionis flattened out and bent down to provide a mount or foot dit. The mount 69 is shown bifurcated to provide la slot 69a for slidably receiving vthe stem portion o1" the bolt l l and against which the bolt head l2 isadapted to rest. As shown in Figure21,'thefmount'portion 6s is provided with or curvature ofthe Vertical upright or pole It.

rihe back# end. portions Se may also be made longer, soV that' they can be brought further i around the' poleor support lil to give additional side sway strength. An integral top piece. 62 entends transversely across the leg portions Sla and Sib to connect them. An inclined or diagonal slot E3 is provided in each leg portion. rIhe slots (53 are adapted to adjustably receive a. transverse bolt positioned vto extend through holes s4 in the attaching portion 3), see Figures 19 and 19A. Thebolt is threaded at 65 and is provided with a n ut tEd, slide washers obb, a lock washer SEC, and Va head (il.

En; the embodiment of Figure l5, the attaching bracket' is first yhung or pivotally-loosely j mounted on the bolt i I, and the portion El) which is carried by the attaching portion 3G may then be moved along its slot t3 to accurately adjust the vertical-'horizontal (diagonal) positioning of the sweep arm member 2i). It will be noted that the slot t3 is suflicicntly wide to permit some side adjustment as well as major diagonal adjustnient. The ends 6e abut the support lil and thus, theportion tiacts as a spacer 'adjustment between the sweep arm member 29 and the support it. 'The slot adjustment may be effected before and/or after the attaching portion 24 has been secured in position on the pole Iii by lag bolts'i.' lThis adjustable means is especially important where the upright it tends to bend or sagV with the weight of its installations and enables a luminaire on the end of the sweep arm `member 2S to be properly aligned vertically (up it also provides some tilting adjustover and abo-ve that 'of the luminaire, itself.

The nuts i3d and 65a are, of course, tightened down to rigidly secure the'fixture in position after the necessary adjustments have been made.

in FiguresZS to 26, inclusive, I have shown a unitary mounting piece, means, or member lil embodiment rif-Figure 3, for example. Iii-this on, the member lll is provided with a leg portions lia and 'Ho that have. a shape or Vcurvature substantially Vcorresponding to the shape or 'curvature- 'of-the upright or pole lil (which may beround, square,'rectangular, etc). Holes it? f provide means forv mounting the lag Altransversely-curved body 'withY an outwardly and substantially horizontally-extending lowerlmounting portion 'M which has an opening l5 to receive the lower end of the up-sweep arm member 26". Weld metal 16 may be employed to secure the portion i4 to the arm member.'v 1 p l As rshown particularly in Figure 25, the body portion i3 is transversely shaped, curved or sloped tol conform substantially to the shapeor curvature of the pole or' upright vHJ and is provided with an enlarged, lower slot portion Stb and an upper, narrow slot portionv 88a, corresponding to the previous described 35h and 35a of the embodiment of Figure fi, and for the same purpose.

.Thecentral body portion 13 terminatesdat its vupper end in anV outwardly-extending, substantially horizontal Vmounting portion ll that is, at its end, provided witha downwardly inclined, extending portion '18. The portion 'i8 is atsubstantially right angles to the length of the sweep arm member 26', and is provided with a hole or slot 'lato receive the arm member. Suitable weld `material'li is shown to secure' the4 portionltrto the arm member 2f. Y,

It will appear that the embodimentjof my invention shown in Figures 23 to 26, inclusive, is mounted in position in a manner somewhat similar to the previously described embodiments, in the sense that thev unitary piece or means 's' is iirst slid into position against thegpole` Ai@ and into alignment with the head I2 of the bolt Il, and is-then slid down thepole from the dot and dash position of Figure 2,3 to the full line position of the same ligure. It will be noted that the arm member 20" may have a substantially continuous curvature Yalong its full length in this particularernbodiment of my invention 'Another advantage of my inventionjis that it 4makes possible the utilization ofv inexpensive Y a protective coatingafter it has been assembled in the plant, that is, after the have beeneffected.

Although cables or wires, can by reason of the open end tubular constructionand the curvature of the sweep arms of my'xture may be easily threaded through them from theirends 22, 22', 22, etc., such" cablesmay also be mounted outside, .f so desired.V j

rThe arrangement shown in rFigures 10 and 11 is very exiblepinthatthe clamping band it may beprelminarily loosely positioned and the oros..- bolt 4133 can be preliminarily tight or loose as desired. Theboits iilof the band t0 and the bolts welding operations t8 of the band 55 permit adjustment about the support or pole 'Eil' 'as well as vertically therealong. t

What Iclaim is: l

V1. vIn ,anv improved overhead outdoor lighting bracket adapted toV be preliminarily pivoted on aheaded take-up pin extending transversely from a vertical' upright and after suitable alignment, to be securely mounted on the vertical upright to project therefrom; the combination of a tubular upsweep member having a substantially vert1cal lower vend portion and an upwardly-outwardly bent connecting portion both dening a upper and lower attaching parts in a vertically spaced-apart relationship with respect to each other on said mounting length part; said upper attaching part having a pair of wings integrally secured to the bent portion of said mounting length part and projecting transverseiy in a spaced-apart relationship with each other to bridge a space between said mounting length part and the vertical upright, said pair of wings terminating in an integral vertical connecting plate, said plate having a vertical slot thereon that is shaped at its lower end to receive the headed taire-up pin and pivotally mount said plate thereon to suspend said upsweep member therefrom;v said lower attaching part having an at least partially encircling attaching portion extending transversely about and integrally secured to the lower end portion of said mounting part, said attaching portion having spaced-apart mounting tabs extending transversely from the lower vertical end portion of said mounting part, said tabs being shaped to extend in opposite direotions transversely along the vertical upright; and means for rigidly securing each of said tabs to the vertical upright after said upsweep member has been aligned on the headed take-up pin.

2. In an improved overhead outdoor lighting bracket as defined in claim 1, wherein said tubular upsweep member has open top and bottom ends and a substantially smoothly curved shape, so that a heavy electric cable may be easily threaded therethrough,

3. In an improved overhead outdoor lighting bracket as defined in claim 1, wherein in the 10 combination, said vertical connecting plate is integral with said mounting tabs.

4. In an improved overhead outdoor lighting bracket as donned in claim 1, wherein in thev combination, an aligning part is provided with wing portions interiitting with said pair of wings, said wing portions terminating in turned-out portions, said turned-out portions being adapted to abut the vertical upright to resist sway of the bracket, and means adjustably securing said wing portions to said pair of wings.

5. In an improved overhead outdoor lighting bracket as dened in claim 4, wherein in the cornbination, clamping means is adapted to engage said turned-out portions and secure them to theV vertical upright.

6. In an improved overhead outdoor lighting bracket as defined in claim 4, wherein in the combination, means is provided to slidably-adjustably secure said wing portions with said pair of wings.

ANDREW A. HOCHER,

anrnnnncns CITED following references are of record in the f le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

